The Daily Observer (Banjul)
Kemo Cham
25 July 2008
President Alhaji Dr Yahya Jammeh has reiterated his resolve to maintain an amiable relationship with the people of the neighbouring Republic of Senegal.
He was speaking at an audience with the visiting Senegalese Prime Minister, Cheikh Hadjibou Soumaré, who was in Banjul to grace the commemoration of the 14th anniversary of the July 22nd Revolution.
According to reports monitored from GRTS, Dr Jammeh told the Senegalese Premier that The Gambia and Senegal enjoy a rare opportunity to serve as an example, as they can form the building block for possible regional, and then continental unification.
He used the opportunity to reiterate his stance as a pan-Africanist, saying: "I am a pan-Africanist; I want Africa to be united, not divided."
The Gambian leader also reaffirmed his unreserved commitment to resolve the conflict in the Senegalese province of Casamance.
The Gambia, he assured the premier, would not harbour any rebel. The president cited his efforts in ensuring that some rebels captured in The Gambia were brought before a court of law as a way of demonstrating that he had nothing to do with the conflict in that region in terms of support; arguing that the captured rebels could have told the court of his support, if he had anything to do with them.
He went on to say that The Gambia has nothing against Senegal, adding that, "We will do nothing to destabilise Senegal." He warned against the excesses of "freedom of the press" in the efforts to maintaining a cordial bond.
He concluded by urging collective efforts in the fight against the scourges of poverty, diseases and malnutrition. For his part, Prime Minister Soumaré sounded visibly appreciative of the Gambian leader's effort in resolving the decades-long civil unrest in the Casamance region, stressing that the two countries are the same, and that what "we see today is as a result of colonial division".
He said that President Jammeh had done what he was supposed to do in ensuring a continued peaceful relationship between the sister republics. He re-echoed the president's comment in calling for restraint on the part of journalists.
While recognising the pan-Africanist stance of the Gambian leader, Prime Minister Soumaré expressed readiness to work with his Gambian counterpart, Vice-President Isatou Njie-Saidy, promising that the both of them would do their utmost to concretise the agreement between Banjul and Dakar.
He concluded by saluting President Jammeh for his achievements for the Gambian people, and for his continued efforts in upgrading the well-being of the entire African people.
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